Not Ourselves
by tigerfriend1999
Summary: A short conversation between Wolf Link and Midna, in which Midna learns a little more about her furry friend's past. It's not set in any particular time of the game, just before Link finds out that Midna is the Twilight Princess. There might be some timeline errors as well. But R&R anyways, please. :)


**A/N: I know that I normally put the author's note at the end, but you really have to know right now that I haven't studied Hylian timelines at all. I'm basically just guessing the connections between OoT Link and TP Link. So, my sincerest apologies if this is just so horrendously stupidly wrong. I just really wanted to do a nice snuggly Wolf Link and Midna scene. This was not intended to be romantic, btw, but I did want to tie in some elements from my other fics. Okay, here's the stupid story already. :P -"Niki Bogwater"**

I watch him turn around three times and flop down as always, giving that sleepy little sigh that all dogs give when they lie down. I cuddle myself up against his warm fur and tuck his tail around my legs. We seem to be more comfortable with "touching" when he's a wolf. Anyhow, he curls his big fluffy head around me and buries his nose in his tail. Neither of us really feel like sleeping, which is weird for him. I play with his big fuzzy ears for a bit. I once teased him by asking him where his "sweet spot" was when he was like this. He had promptly answered, with utmost seriousness, that it was right behind his ears. Since then, I've repeatedly caught myself unconsciously drifting my fingers to the back of his ears to scratch the soft fur there.

A chill wind whips across the hills, and I shiver a little. He lifts his head to look me in the eyes. "Cold?" he asks simply. It's still weird hearing his voice coming from a completely different body. He usually avoids talking because of this, but I think we're both getting used to the weirdness of this whole situation by now.

"Yeah. Gimme back my blanket, fuzz-face," I grumble, pulling his head back down across my lap. "I hate this..."

"Well, excuse me, Midna. My apologies if my fur isn't up to your standards. But when you play the part of hero, you can't be picky like a princess." I wince a little. I'm still haunted by nightmares in which he finds out my true past. What would he say if he knew...But he couldn't know...he doesn't...I think...sometimes I wonder...

Of course he notices my discomfort. He notices everything in this form. I wonder if it's just him in general, or if all dogs are this perceptive. "Midna, seriously, what's going on? You've been grumpy all day...well, more grumpy than usual, anyways."

"Oh!" I yelp, whacking the top of his head in mock horror. "Fine, then! If I'm so grumpy as you say, then maybe I'm too grumpy to give you anymore tummy rubs!"

"Ahh! No, Master, anything but that! Deprive me of food, shelter, and love, but not the tummy rubs!" I'm having a hard time containing my giggles. I'm not sure how he can still be as playful as he is. He's seen horrible things, been forced to do things he didn't want to do, but he still loves to make other people smile. Even while he's a wolf.

"How do you do it?" I ask suddenly, after a few minutes of silence. He lifts his head, much to my discomfort, and cocks it, looking confused.

"Huh? Do what?"

"Stay so...happy. Stay so focused on making other people happy...I can't do that..." I add in an almost inaudible whisper.

His shoulder shifts beneath me in what I assume is a shrug. He puts his head back down to keep me warm while he talks. "I dunno. My mom always said that I need to focus on the here and now. She used to say 'The farm life is about doing what needs to be done today.' I guess I've just always tried to focus on what needs to be done right now...which is making you lighten up."

"How do you let go of the past, though? I mean, no offense, but you haven't had what most people think is a good life." He shrugs again.

"A lot of life is just taking things as they come. Soon today becomes yesterday. You take what you learn from day to day, pack it up, and leave the rest. It makes life a lot simpler and less stressed." I'm silent for a few minutes, thinking about what he says. My fingers start rubbing the back of his ear again, and he shifts a little to lean into me with his head. He always does that when he's being petted. I think all dogs do it, but for some reason, he's the only dog I ever pet.

"So you grew up on a farm?" I say finally.

"Yeah. A horse ranch. My mom was born there, and my dad married her and stayed to work the farm with her."

"So that's how you know so much about animals," I say, still petting his head.

"Yeah...heheh...I wonder what Mom and Dad would say if they found out I've actually become an animal..." I smile a little. "I moved to Ordon when I turned eighteen. I kind of wanted to run my own place. Epona was one of the horses that was born on the ranch. Mom and Dad let me take her with me. Her mother was the best horse on the ranch. Dad used to ride her a lot back when he was...traveling."

"Traveling?" I prod, becoming interested.

"He...yeah, he did a lot of traveling. Death Mountain, Zora's Domain, the works."

"Was that his hobby or something?"

"No. Actually he said he wanted nothing more than to just settle down with my mom. But he had to keep traveling. Otherwise..." Link's voice trails off, and he's silent again for a minute.

"Otherwise...what?" I ask, genuinely curious, now.

"Otherwise, Hyrule would've been destroyed. Back then, Ganondorf tried to take over. But Dad managed to find all of the sages that were needed to lock him away again."

"Wait a tick, slow down there, Hairball. Your dad...was the Hero of Time?" I breathe. The story of the Hero of Time is legendary. How a young boy from the forest became friends with the princess, and how they both tried to stop Ganondorf, but couldn't because the boy was not strong enough. He was put to sleep for seven years until he grew strong enough to fight the evil king. After the princess was restored to the throne, the hero disappeared. No one seemed to know where he'd gone...until now.

"Yeah," he answers simply, a hint of pride in his voice.

"So the reason no one saw him again was because he abandoned the life of a hero and became a farmer?"

"Pretty much. He never liked to talk much about it though. Mom was the one who told me about it. She knew Dad when he was working to save Hyrule. He'd come by the ranch a lot to see her."

"Awww, how sweet," I coo. Link chuckles in response.

"I guess. Mom was about sixteen and Dad was seventeen when all this was happening. They got hitched about two years later, and then they had my sister when Dad was about twenty."

"You have a sister?" I ask. "I didn't know that."

"Yeah, she still works my parents' farm. Her name is Malon. She was named after my mom, just like I was named after Dad."

"Malon...I've heard that name before...Related to Talon?"

"Talon was my grandpa on my mom's side. Yeah, he was the one who founded Lon Lon Ranch and became famous for their high-quality milk."

"Oh that's right. His name has come up in a few history books. Mostly the ones about the Hero of Time." I giggle a little. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because I feel special being allowed to hear about Link's past. Another breeze slices through the silent night, and I shiver again, snuggling closer against Link's fluffy shoulder. Obviously, I would NEVER allow this kind of close personal contact when he's in human form. But strangely enough, I'm quite comfortable with this when he's a wolf. That might just be because it means there's no way you can interpret romantic feelings from my interactions with a dog. It also might be because we're both not ourselves. I mean, he's not really like this. He's a human, someone with a soul and mind, and the ability to reason and define right from wrong. And I'm not like this, either.

I'm a beautiful princess, who loves her people, despite the dark past of my kingdom. I'm not truly a creepy little imp, thrown out of my home to ride around on the backs of puppies. I feel closest to Link when he's a wolf, because I know what it's like to be someone you aren't. He doesn't know what I am...yet...someday I will have to tell him.

"Soft..." I murmur sleepily, burying my face in his fur.

"You'd better not drool in your sleep..." he mutters, readjusting himself into a more comfortable position before laying his shaggy head back down across my legs.

"And...if I do?"

"I will make you sleep over there." He jabs his nose in the other direction.

"Alright, silly doggy. I won't drool all over your shiny fur...much..." I giggle as he glares at me. "Aw, you wouldn't let a sweet little lass like me shiver to death all night in the cold without her precious wittle puppykins to keep her warm, would you?" I bat my one visible eye cutely.

"If you promise to never call me 'puppykins' again, I won't."

"Okay, okay, you win, Link," I yawn. Suddenly, we're both feeling pretty sleepy. I lean into his neck and lay an arm across his head, scratching his "sweet spot."

"Good night, Midna," he says softly before closing his eyes.

"'Night, Fluffy," I giggle, Link's eyes popping open again to glare at me. "Just go to sleep, Link," I laugh. "At least I didn't call you 'puppykins.'"


End file.
